Toy balloon.



No. 673,776. Patahted May 7, 19m.

m. KAVANAGH.

TOY BALLOON.

IApplicahion med. Dec. 1, 1899.

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MARCUS KAVANAGH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TOY BALLOON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.: 673,776, dated May 7, 1901.

Application filed December 1, 1899- To all Nib/0772 it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MARoUs KAVANAGH, a citizen of the United States, residing in Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toy Balloons, of which the following is a specification.

The object of myinvention is to afford both amusement and instruction to the young in a manner to educate them as they play; and it consists in combining with the ordinary spherical or oval aerial toy balloon anexternal structure of cloth, paper, or other extremely light material and having the contour of face or figure of a living being, as some human celebrity, or caricature, or some representative of the lower animal kingdom.

In carrying out my invention I either cut out to shape and paste or glue upon the exterior of the balloon the individual components of the lineaments or figure to be represented, so that they shall appear thereon in full relief when the balloon is inflated, or I form the head, bust, or figure by molding of suitable light material and introduce the balloon therein in such manner that the string or valve of said balloon shall keep the portrayment perfectly erect when the ballon is inflated and soaring.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of apparatus embodying myinvention in form of a caricature. Fig. 2 represents an alternative construction wherein the lineaments are of a more conventional cast. Fig. 3 is a frontview of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a detail.

A designates an ordinary toy balloon, of rubber, adapted to be inflated and lifted by hydrogen or other gas, and A is the string by which it is held. To the surface of this balloon I may apply, as in Figs. 1 and 2, the features, exaggerated or not, of a human being-for instance, the caricature known as Punch by pasting the mouth and chin B, nose 0, and crest D in relief thereon, and also affixing or applying eyes D in suitable relation to the other parts, whether in relief or not. Instead, however, of pasting orotherwise independently affixing the individual features to the balloon a light mask in relief Serial No."738,792. (No model.)

may be bodily applied theretoas, for instance, the head E, with cocked hat F, (shown in Fig. 3,) said head being advisably, but not necessarily, molded entirely of extremely light fabric or fibrous material and provided beneath with an opening a and elongated neck I), through which the string of the balloon passes, and whereby it will be held upright when the balloon is inflated and soaring in the air. Any suitable figure may thus be applied externally and in relief to the balloon the faces or busts of historical personages or celebrities, or full outlines of men and animals, grotesque and laughable caricatures, or instructive specimens of the animal kingdom, and these may be colored naturally or otherwise adorned and set 01f with accessories of dress or headgear, as desired.

The balloon, it will be observed, is of ordinary regular outline, as stated in the preamble, and the external conto n rs applied thereto are of extremely light material, such as will be readily lifted or floated when the balloon is inflated, in which sense such material may be defined for brevity as levitable.

I am aware that toy balloons have been made wherein the shell of the balloon itself is shaped to present the figure of an animal or other irregular contour when inflated. These balloons are expensive to make, unreliable in use owing to the frequency of seams and angles, and of very little durability, and they in no wise come within the scope of my invention, wherein it is an object to retain the uniform unbroken contour of the balloon itself and arrange all decorative and salient contours externally thereto and surrounding the same, so that the balloon proper when inflated either cooperates to complete the outline desired or is wholly inclosed therein.

Having thus described my" invention, I claim- 1. A toy balloon of ordinary regular outline, combined with an independent levitable casing or covering adapted to inclose or cover said balloon and having configurations thereon.

2. A toy balloon of ordinary regular construction combined with an inclosing casing representing the outlines of a face or figure, and means for supporting said casing in an upright position.

3. A toy balloon of ordinary regular construction, combined with a molded encircling head or bust of levitab le material, having an opening beneath, and an elongated and narrowed neck, whereby the string or cord of the balloon serves-t0 keep said head upright when the balloon is soaring. MARCUS KAVANAGH.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH G. PABKINSON, LUCY M. BULKLEY. 

